LOS ANGELES — With 5.4 seconds left in the game, Lakers big man Anthony Davis successfully flicked a jump ball away from Andrew Wiggins and toward LeBron James past the three-point line. But Stephen Curry, as a free safety, got a bean on the ball and went for the interception. It was the last hope for the Warriors on Monday, so he met the ball in the climax, hopped over Moses Moody and over James on the ground, to get the Warriors possession again. And Curry did so with great determination.
Then he threw the ball out of bounds.
Curry said he wished after he landed on the hardwood after the tackle, with James hovering over him, he had more awareness to call a timeout. In this chaos, it felt as if a bell was going to sound at any moment, despondency took hold. So he blindly throws the ball over his head.
“I didn’t realize how much time had passed while I was in the air down,” Carey said. “I actually felt that someone was standing behind me.”
But there was no one. The Warriors’ last moments in victory ran out of bounds, pulling off a 104-101 rout and a 3-1 series deficit. Nobody was there. A finale worthy of an evening of warriors.
It was Curry vs. Los Angeles. against LeBron and A.D. Against a caged defense in blocking it. Against the Warriors’ relentless flaws. Against the currents of a season that seems doomed to frustration. against the odds. against age. Against the open jaws of time seeking to devour their bloodline.
If Curry’s will alone was enough, the Warriors wouldn’t be close to being eliminated. If heart were the answer, Game 4 of these Western Conference Semifinals would have made the list of outstanding performances. Scored or assisted on 61 of the Warriors’ 101 points.
“Steve was amazing,” said Steve Kerr. “His effort was unbelievable. Just the stamina, you know, with whatever they were throwing at him. To do what he did and attack and bring the ball back and distribute it. … It was amazing.”
But the Lakers are bigger, stronger, more athletic, younger in the right places, experienced enough to execute, have two stars who are driven by years of losing to Curry and know his game like no one else.
Curry couldn’t muster the hex on his 3-point shot in this arena against this team. He couldn’t pay enough help from his teammates. He just couldn’t get over the mojo of those Lakers resurgents.
He definitely tried. Fight through dual squads and layers of defense. He endured the Lakers’ offense, even defending James one-on-one. But 31 points, 14 assists, 10 rebounds, 3 steals and just 2 turnovers in 42 minutes wasn’t enough. Because it wasn’t perfect. He needed one or two more than 14 3 to fall, instead of just three. One or two defensive stops on Lonnie Walker IV. One or two better decisions in the long run.
However, he almost did. It was obvious how close he came from how emphatic LeBron hugged Lonnie Walker at the end. The Lakers survived a Curry gem that at some points felt inevitable.
For the more suspenseful seconds, as Curry’s attempt at a game-tying 3-pointer sailed from 29 feet above Davis’ unending reach, through the hovering intensity of the Crypto.com Arena, it felt like he might pull it off. The midrange he just took on Davies seconds before then was bobbing on and off. But the three will not fall.
“The first, they switched and you could kind of see the second layer of defense. … a nice little step back. He was in and out. It felt good. The second, it was a little quick but it’s a shot – obviously I picked it up because I thought I could I make it… I’m swinging with those.”
What he could have used—with his three-balls not falling as usual and with the Lakers using anyone’s defense but Curry’s defense—was another combination.
The Warriors only scored 17 points in the fourth, 10 from Curry and two more points when he found Moody to throw the ball. The rest of the Warriors totaled five points: a pair of free throws by Andrew Wiggins and corner 3 by Klay Thompson.
Kerr rode his four best players—Curry, Draymond Green, and Thompson Wiggins—throughout the entire fourth quarter. Moody earned approval as the fifth player for most of the quarter.
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Kevon Looney was on the bench, a trade-off in the Warriors’ desperate need for space. Jordan Paul, the usual space saver, was benched after missing four shots and committing a turnover in more than 10 minutes of action. Kerr went wide of second Gary Payton, who started and was hugely influential with 15 points, most of them as an inside finisher as he drew Cary Davis to him. Donte DiVincenzo also had his best game of the series, with 10 points and a solid defense, but was glued to the bench for all but 4:36 of the second period.
That put all the weight on Thompson, Wiggins, and Green to come close. Like they have many times before. Like they did against Memphis, Boston and Sacramento over the last two seasons.
Defensively, they’ve done well enough. The Lakers scored 27 in the final quarter, but only eight came from James and Davis, the centerpieces of the Warriors’ defense. Offensively, however, they left Curry hanging. Thompson Wiggins took five combined shots in the fourth quarter – they were all 3s. They missed four, including two wide open by Wiggins on the left wing.
“I thought we got a great look,” Wiggins said. “They just didn’t go down. I have to hit those.”
Thompson finished with just nine points and was quiet most of the night offensively. While the Warriors usually looked to push him, he spent most of the night as a mechanism for gravity. The Lakers stuck closely with Thompson, taking actions that would usually get him 3s. Along with the attention to Carey, the paint was open. The Warriors made 26 of 40 inside, outscoring the Lakers 52-46 in the paint.
But Thompson’s rhythm and patience were sacrificed. And in the end, when the Warriors desperately needed his shot, his night ended with a couple of epic forced 3s.
Klay Thompson on picking his late shot: “That one with five seconds on the shot clock, I wish I could take that back, and take a better look. The one on the left wing I feel like I just rushed it… I should have taken my time. Even with So, we fought and had a chance to win.”
– Shayna Rubin (@ShaynaRubin) May 9, 2023
Green didn’t take a shot and flipped it twice.
If the Warriors season is going to continue, it’s going to require someone to join Curry on this journey. They need someone else to punish the Lakers for giving so much attention to Curry.
The first candidate is Thompson. In Game 2, the only game the Warriors won, he scored 30 points on 11 of 18 shooting. He made 8 of his 11 3s. He was rolling and the Lakers were cooked. But in the two matches in Los Angeles, he took 24 points for 8-for-25.
If not Thompson, Wiggins is the other player capable of being Curry’s winger in attack. They won a championship last season because Wiggins reached another level. It might be a lot to ask while defending LeBron and fighting through the remaining emotions of what has been a struggle of the season. But the warriors need it.
The other two times they’ve lost 3-1 in a series, Game 5 marked the team’s final win. Against Oklahoma City in 2016, the Home Warriors got 31 from Curry, 27 from Thompson and even totaled 29 points from Andrew Bogut and Marreesse Speights. Against Toronto in 2019, they hit the road and kept their season alive: 31 from Curry, 26 from Thompson, a near-triple from Green, 14 from DeMarcus Cousins, even a big shot from Quinn Cook.
The Warriors need one of those games on Wednesday. Where the payload is shared. Where the Lakers get hit from multiple angles. And if they somehow survive, Curry’s will could get another chance to add to his legend.
And maybe this time, someone will be behind him.
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Stepping on the brink of elimination, the Warriors lose Game 4 to the Lakers
(Photo: Harry How/Getty Images)